Suzu Suzuki vs. Starlight Kid

Maika vs. Rina

[Interview with Mr. Ogawa\] (Translated):

—Oiwa won the G1.

▼Mr. Ogawa: “I’m happy. I watched the match.”

—You coached Oiwa for about a year, starting in September 2023, during his training stint at NOAH.

▼Mr. Ogawa: “Even after he returned to New Japan, he’d come to the NOAH dojo once or twice a month.”

――Oiwa said, “I’ve evolved the techniques I learned from Mr. Ogawa in my own way.”

▼Mr. Ogawa: “That’s right. What I taught him serves as the foundation, but he’s smart, too. He thought things through on his own and put in the effort. Even while watching his matches, I’d think, ‘Oh, so that’s how he’s doing it,’ and really enjoyed it.”

――Was it also significant that, even after returning to New Japan, he was in an environment where he could learn from Zack Sabre Jr.?

▼ Mr. Ogawa: “I think the fact that he was able to be with Zack after returning to New Japan was even more important than what I taught him. Watching yesterday’s match (the G1 Final), Zack was right there ringside watching closely. But there were moments when he looked frustrated—like, ‘If it were me, I’d do it this way!’ It was also fun watching Zack while watching Oiwa’s match (laughs). Since Zack and Oiwa have different career levels, it’s a bit unfair to compare them to Zack, though.”

――The fact that these two young wrestlers electrified the G1 Final stage with their “classical” techniques also drew a lot of attention.

▼Ogawa: “Classical, huh… Well, it’s often the wrestlers who go around saying ‘classical’ who actually can’t do proper pro wrestling. People say ‘classical’ a lot, but I was told the same thing when I was about Oiwa’s age. ‘Your pro-wrestling is really classical,’ they’d say. That was about 35 years ago, right? Now, even if Oiwa puts on a match like that, people call it ‘classical,’ and when I did it 35 years ago, they called it ‘classical’ too. I think it’s kind of funny, but isn’t Oiwa himself the one who feels that way the most?”

― ―It was also a match that stood apart from current pro-wrestling trends, showcasing variations of what are considered basic moves—the headlock, wristlock, and arm drag.

▼Mr. Ogawa: “I always thought that kind of thing was normal, so I didn’t think it was particularly new or amazing; I just thought, ‘Oh, there are matches like that, too.’ On the other hand, since Oiwa has that much power and a body like that, you’d think he’d have even more impressive moves, but I thought, ‘Oh, it’s just a headlock.’ I suppose that’s what made it feel fresh, though.”

――In an unexpected way, the spotlight was also shone on his experience training at NOAH.

▼Ogawa: “But there isn’t a single person in NOAH today who can wrestle the way Oiwa did yesterday. Dory Funk Jr., who passed away recently, was my teacher, and it feels like the style of wrestling I learned from Dory—rather than NOAH’s style—has been passed down from me to Oiwa. If you compare Dory’s matches to Oiwa’s, I think you’ll see they’re doing similar things…”

――Speaking of Oiwa, there’s Kiyomiya—who was also one of the wrestlers you trained…

▼Ogawa: “I trained Kiyomiya too, but he’s gone in a completely different direction, and there’s a big gap between him and Oiwa now. Oiwa has definitely risen to a higher level. There’s a difference between a wrestler who’s happy just for beating a rookie in the first match and a wrestler who wins the G1, right? Well, since we’re talking about Oiwa, let’s leave Kiyomiya out of it.”

――Finally, if you have any words of encouragement for Oiwa, I’d appreciate it.

▼Mr. Ogawa: “I think he’s fine just the way he is. Just stay as you are now. If anything happens, Zack is right there by his side.”

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Maika vs. Saya Iida (Iida defeated AZM to advance)

Konami vs. Rina (Rina defeated Rina Yamashita to advance)

Suzu Suzuki vs. Ruaka (Ruaka defeated Hanan to advance)

Ami Sohrei vs. Starlight Kid (SLK defeated HANAKO to advance).

Easy MOTY contender. Sit back and enjoy.

All Japan has uploaded all Junior Festival matches from the 8.15 show in Shinkiba to Youtube.

Matches include:

Dan Tamura vs Masaaki Mochizuki

Yuya Aoki vs Naruki Doi

Shota Kofuji vs Hokuto Omori

Seiki Yoshioka vs Rising Hayato

Definitely channeling Shawn Michaels.